Shuiqing also mentioned the benefits: "Since it's done at home, everyone, young and old, can participate, so meals can't be provided."

As for clothing, once the toothbrush workshop has income, it will distribute fabric for two sets of clothes to every household in the village that participated, in the workshop's name.

It's like work clothes, a benefit for the villagers, since they work at home, saving her space but also causing inconvenience to other family members.

The two pieces of fabric give everyone a sense of belonging and participation, which is great. The more people participate, the more toothbrush handles are made, and the more money the toothbrush workshop makes.

Wang Guifen understood when she heard that meals weren't provided. She could cook at home, and the whole family could participate. There would be lunch every day. How could she manage that? She couldn't possibly take care of the whole family. The money the toothbrush workshop earned might not even be enough to feed the entire village!

Hearing that there were clothes, and that they were being distributed to every household and everyone involved, she thought she had misheard and asked blankly, "Shuiqing, are you sure you didn't mishear? Some families have more than ten or twenty people, and adults and children need a lot of fabric."

My family has more than ten people, so we'll definitely take on the job of making toothbrush handles. Once we get them back, we'll make them, and then Shuiqing will give each of us two sets of fabric.

"Well, the five steps I mentioned earlier require five people. Cutting and splitting bamboo is quick for the men in the family, but polishing is a delicate task that takes a long time. The elderly and children in the family can help with this step, so the number of toothbrush handles that can be made each day can increase significantly."

For them, it meant making money, and for the toothbrush shop, it meant making money too, didn't it? It's just two pieces of cloth; our villagers wear clean, comfortable, and warm clothes, and they have hope for the future when they work and earn money.”

The children in the village only had two hours a day to study and learn to read and write, and they didn't take the imperial examinations. It was more like a literacy class. The rest of the time they were free. Originally, they helped their families cut grass and do housework and farm work, but now that there was a toothbrush workshop, they could take on handicrafts and at least earn some money.

The old village chief's lips, which rarely turned up, couldn't help but curl upwards at this moment. What Shui Qing said meant that everyone in the village would have work to do and everyone would be able to earn money in the future!

Unlike before, when the three eldest brothers had to go to the prefectural city to earn some money, they had to beg the officials to arrange work for them. Even having work was considered good, as the less capable men in the village couldn't even find odd jobs.

Not to mention the women who can't go out.

The elderly and children have limited skills to do in the fields, so polishing toothbrush handles is the most suitable job for them.

Thinking about the future of Shanshui Village, the old village chief's hand holding his cane trembled slightly.

He looked at his eldest daughter-in-law and said, "Go and inform every household in the village to send someone clever and quick-witted over here."

Wang Guifen immediately exclaimed "Oh!", put down the chicken feed basket, casually wiped her hands on her clothes, and quickly ran out.

This is incredibly joyous news! The villagers will surely set off firecrackers to celebrate.

The old village chief then looked at Shuiqing and asked with concern, "Have you figured out a sales channel? Can you sell them?"

Whether the village prospers or not depends entirely on whether its goods can be sold.

Shui Qing was marveling at the old village chief's efficiency when she heard the question and replied, "No worries for now. The first batch is for Master Bai, so we'll supply the Bai family's shop with goods."

The next step is to wait for Wenhua and the others to return, then transport the goods to Yuhang to see how well they sell and how many can be sold each month. We should have a better understanding in two or three months.

The old village chief's heart sank. What if it didn't sell well in two or three months...? Then he thought that at least the first and second batches were guaranteed. Whether they would sell well or not, he would have to try to find out!

Shui Qing at least has the ability to test things out; no one else could do that.

Shuiqing was thinking that there were still too few people in the village.

Currently, there are about 400 people. The herbal medicine workshop is fine; it only needs about 30 people. Moreover, these 30 people can also be used in the toothbrush workshop, so the proportion is very small.

However, the toothbrush workshop's OEM work can take up a lot of people's labor. Each household in the village raises rabbits, pigs, and sheep, which also requires a lot of labor. She can use the wool from rabbits, pigs, and sheep, which is why she indirectly encouraged everyone to invest in expanding breeding.